German modal verbs: Conjugation, usage and word order

Instead of memorizing "I'm allowed to," "I need to," and "I want to" as unrelated phrases, German handles all of it with six small, irregular verbs and one consistent sentence pattern. 

Once that pattern clicks, modal verbs stop being six things to memorize and start being one habit to build. 

Below, we'll walk through what the six modal verbs mean, how to conjugate them in every tense, and exactly where they go in a sentence.

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Overview of German modal verbs

In your German class, you’ll learn that there are six modal verbs in German: dürfen, können, mögen, müssen, sollen, and wollen. The first three express possibility; the other three express necessity.

German	Meaning	English equivalent
dürfen	permission	may, be allowed to
können	ability	can, be able to
mögen	desire/liking	like, want
müssen	necessity	must, have to
sollen	obligation	should, be supposed to
wollen	intention	want to

How German modal verbs work in a sentence

This is the one rule that makes or breaks modal verbs: the modal gets conjugated, and the main verb stays in its infinitive form at the very end of the sentence.

• Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.  I can speak German.
• Wir müssen jetzt gehen.  We have to go now.
• Du darfst hier nicht rauchen.  You're not allowed to smoke here.

No matter what you add in between, that infinitive stays parked at the end:

• Ich kann heute wegen der Arbeit nicht kommen.  I can't come today because of work.

In questions, the word order shifts depending on the question type. In yes/no questions, the modal verb jumps to the very first position: 

Kannst du mir helfen? (Can you help me?). 

In questions with a question word, the modal takes second position, right after the question word: 

Wann kannst du kommen? (When can you come?). 

Either way, the main verb still waits until the end.

In subordinate clauses—the kind introduced by weil, dass, or wenn—the whole verb pair moves to the very end, and the main verb (infinitive) coming right before the conjugated modal: 

Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich arbeiten muss (I'm staying home because I have to work). 

This trips people up because it's the one place where the modal isn't in position two anymore.

You'll also see modal verbs used alone, without a second verb, when the meaning is already clear: Ich mag das (I like that) or Ich kann das (I can do that).

[CTA box: Word order is the one modal-verb rule you can't learn from a table — you have to hear it and say it wrong a few times first. Get that instant correction in a live class. → Try a free German class]

Conjugating German modal verbs in the present tense

Modal verbs follow the rules that apply to German irregular verbs in the present tense: most drop or change their stem vowel for ich, du, and er/sie/es, and, unlike regular verbs, the ich and er/sie/es forms are identical.

Person	dürfen	können	mögen	müssen	sollen	wollen
ich	darf	kann	mag	muss	soll	will
du	darfst	kannst	magst	musst	sollst	willst
er/sie/es	darf	kann	mag	muss	soll	will
wir	dürfen	können	mögen	müssen	sollen	wollen
ihr	dürft	könnt	mögt	müsst	sollt	wollt
Sie/sie	dürfen	können	mögen	müssen	sollen	wollen

Notice the pattern: ich and er/sie/es are always identical, and wir, ihr, and sie/Sie just use the infinitive-style ending. Once you've got that shape memorized for one modal, the rest follow the same logic.

Conjugating German modal verbs in the simple past (Präteritum)

Here's a detail that surprises a lot of learners: modal verbs actually favor the Präteritum (simple past) over the Perfekt in everyday conversation—the opposite of most other German verbs, which lean on Perfekt when speaking.

Person	dürfen	können	mögen	müssen	sollen	wollen
ich	durfte	konnte	mochte	musste	sollte	wollte
du	durftest	konntest	mochtest	musstest	solltest	wolltest
er/sie/es	durfte	konnte	mochte	musste	sollte	wollte
wir	durften	konnten	mochten	mussten	sollten	wollten
ihr	durftet	konntet	mochtet	musstet	solltet	wolltet
Sie/sie	durften	konnten	mochten	mussten	sollten	wollten

The word order rule doesn't change here. The modal still takes second position, and the main verb still goes to the end: 

Ich musste jeden Tag arbeiten (I had to work every day).

Wollen has a nuance worth flagging in the Präteritum: it often describes a past intention that didn't pan out. Ich wollte kommen, konnte aber nicht (I wanted to come, but I couldn't) is an extremely common real-conversation pattern: the "wanted to, but" structure.

Perfekt and the double infinitive

When you do use a modal verb in the Perfekt tense (for storytelling or emphasis) it forms what's called a double infinitive: 

haben + the main verb's infinitive + the modal's infinitive, in that order.

• Ich habe gehen müssen.  I had to go.
• Sie hat Deutsch lernen wollen.  She wanted to learn German.

This is one of the trickier constructions in German grammar, even for advanced learners, because it breaks the usual "past participle at the end" pattern you'd expect from Perfekt. 

Standard written German keeps this order (main-verb infinitive, then modal infinitive), but you'll sometimes hear the two infinitives reversed in spoken German, especially in southern Germany and Austria (habe müssen gehen).

In practice, most everyday speech just uses the Präteritum instead (Ich musste gehen) and saves the double infinitive for more formal or precise contexts.

Double infinitives rarely come up in a textbook exercise

Practice building them with a teacher

Future tense with modal verbs

To talk about modal verbs in the future, use werden (conjugated) + the main verb's infinitive + the modal's infinitive at the end: 

Ich werde das machen müssen (I will have to do that). 

In practice, German speakers often skip this construction altogether and just use the present tense with a time word instead: 

Ich muss das morgen machen (I have to do that tomorrow) does the same job and is far more common in everyday speech.

Möchten: the almost-seventh modal verb

You'll sometimes hear people mention a seventh German modal verb: möchten. Technically, it's the subjunctive form of mögen, not a separate verb.However, it's used constantly for polite requests, so it's worth learning early.

• Ich möchte einen Kaffee.  I'd like a coffee.
• Möchtest du mitkommen?  Would you like to come along?

Möchten follows the same word-order rule as every other modal: conjugated form in second position, main verb (if there is one) as an infinitive at the end.

Using each German modal verb

Now that you know how modal verbs are built, here's how each one actually gets used in conversation.

The German modal verb dürfen

Dürfen (may) most often gives or denies permission to do something:

• Du darfst mit deinen Freunden ausgehen.  You may go out with your friends.
• Im Theater darf man nicht telefonieren.  You may not use the phone at the theater.

In the subjunctive mood, it can also express a guess, presumption, or suspicion:

• Das Kind dürfte sechs Jahre alt sein.  The child is likely to be six years old.
• Sie dürften recht haben.  They may very well be right.

The German modal verb können

Können shares that permission sense with dürfen:

• Das kannst du so nicht sagen!  You can't say that!
• Sie können offen sprechen.  You may speak openly.

But its main job is expressing capability, ability, and possibility:

• Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.  I can speak German.
• Wir können uns nicht treffen.  We cannot meet.

You'll also hear it for inference and conclusion:

• Er kann das nicht wissen, da er meine Nachricht nicht bekommen hat.  He cannot know that, since he didn't get my message.
• Es könnte regnen.  There could be rain.

The German modal verb mögen

Reach for mögen to express a want, wish, or desire—or, in the negative, rejection or dislike:

• Sie mögen nicht essen.  They don't want to eat.
• Ich mag nicht darüber sprechen.  I don't want to talk about it.

The German modal verb müssen

Müssen gives orders, expresses necessity (or its absence), and supports inferences:

• Sie müssen hier unterschreiben.  You have to sign here.
• Du musst nicht anrufen.  You don't have to call.
• Wir müssen alle schlafen.  We all have to sleep.

The German modal verb sollen

Turn to sollen to give an order, make a request, or express an assumption or purpose:

• Die Kinder sollen jetzt ihre Zähne putzen.  The children have to brush their teeth now.
• Sie soll noch viele Geschwister haben.  Supposedly she has many more siblings.
• Das soll ihnen eine Hilfe sein.  That should be of help to them.

The German modal verb wollen

Wollen specifies a wish or intention to do something or, negated, an unwillingness:

• Sie wollen ein Haus bauen.  They want to build a house.
• Er will nicht in die Schule gehen.  He doesn't want to go to class.

FAQs

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Get comfortable with German modal verbs

When you learn German, modal verbs feel like a lot of irregular forms at first, but they all move through the same sentence pattern.The good news? Once this pattern clicks, it really does stick. You've now got everything you need: what the six modal verbs mean, how to conjugate them, and where they go in a sentence. The last piece isn't more grammar, it's just practice. Say the sentences out loud, get comfortable stumbling over word order a few times, and you'll notice how quickly kann, muss, and will start showing up naturally in your everyday German. 

Six modal verbs, six irregular patterns, one word order rule

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